THE RMT has announced that its conductor members on Southern will strike again next Wednesday -- 18 May -- which is two days earlier than previously planned. Meanwhile a war of words has broken out between the two sides in the increasingly bitter dispute.
The disagreement concerns the extension of driver-only operation on Southern, but the RMT is also accusing Southern's operator Govia Thameslink Railway of adopting a 'threatening and abusive stance' towards union members who are 'using their basic human right to strike in defence of rail safety'.
GTR has denied that transferring door control to the driver has any safety implications.
A company spokesman said: "This is clearly a cynical ploy by RMT leadership to maximise the disruption their action will have on passengers by moving the strike, with the bare minimum of notice the law requires, from a Friday, when fewer people traditionally travel, to midweek. This action is completely unnecessary; there’s a job for everyone who wants one and no-one will have a cut in salary. The only difference is that conductors will no longer close a train’s doors.”
Some Southern trains will continue to carry conductors controlling the doors, and GTR has given staff until 20 May to say whether they wished to remain in this role, pointing out that it would be 'first come first served'.
The spokesman added that the RMT's allegations about GTR's 'threatening' stance were 'totally groundless', and pointed out that six out of ten trains on GTR are already DOO. On Thameslink, this has been the case since 1988.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: "The union has once again reassessed the tactics of the dispute and, recognising the hostile and aggressive stance taken by the company as we fight for the basic principles of rail safety, RMT’s executive has decided to switch the next phase of action to 18 May, two days before Southern’s outrageous ultimatum to staff.
“Southern GTR should be under no illusions, the union will not bend to their bullying and threats and we will be out there building on the huge public support we have already mobilised in a campaign that pitches the demands for increasing private profits against safety on our railways. The company know that they are losing the public battle and have resorted to some of the dirtiest tactics seen in an industrial struggle in Britain in many years. They will not get away with those attacks on basic human rights."
GTR is also remaining firm. The company said: "The refusal of the RMT to negotiate has left us with no option but to press on with our plans to evolve the role of the conductor on many of our services."
A contingency timetable is now being drawn up for next Wednesday. GTR said as during the previous strikes it expected to run a limited service, with no trains on some routes and reduced frequencies on others.